Summary

The powerful memoir of a young black woman coming of age in South Africa amid the violence of apartheid, beautifully written by her brother, the bestselling author of "Kaffir Boy."

Mark Mathabane first came to prominence with the publication of "Kaffir Boy," which became a New York Times bestseller. His story of growing up in South Africa was one of the most riveting accounts of life under apartheid. Mathabane's newest book, "Miriam's Song," is the story of Mark's sister, who was left behind in South Africa. It is the gripping tale of a woman -- representative of an entire generation -- who came of age amid the violence and rebellion of the 1980s and finally saw the destruction of apartheid and the birth of a new and democratic South Africa.

Mathabane writes in Miriam's voice, based on stories she told him, but he has re-created her unforgettable experience as only someone who also lived through it could. The immediacy of the hardships that brother and sister endured -- from daily school beatings to near-overwhelming poverty -- is balanced by the beauty of their childhood observations and the true affection that they have for

Booklist Review

Mathabane continues the account of his remarkable family's daily life in a South African township. Drawing on his previous titles, including the extraordinary autobiography Kaffir Boy (1986) and African Women, which is told in the voices of his aunt, mother, and sister, he focuses this time on his sister Miriam's story, from her elementary years to her departure for the U.S. to study nursing. Written in the first person but filtered through her brother, Miriam's thoughts and emotions can feel defused and vague, and the overall narrative lacks cohesion. Still, what emerges in these intimate chapters is a powerful impression of what it meant to come of age, poor, female, and black, under apartheid: the abusive education; lethal rioting; lack of basic necessities; and endemic rape and domestic abuse. Shining through each account is the nearly inconceivable resilience of Miriam and her family and the transforming impact of her brother's success on the family's lives. --Gillian Engberg

Library Journal Review

Mark Mathabane, the author of Kaffir Boy, helps recount the life of his sister, who remained behind in South Africa after he left and witnessed its struggle to throw off apartheid. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.